Crystal Palace's Michy Batshuayi and Luka Milivojevic had to be separated in training
Crystal Palace players Michy Batshuayi and Luka Milivojevic had to be separated by team-mates in a training ground scuffle before their meeting with Arsenal on Thursday.
Batshuayi and Milivojevic, the Palace captain, clashed during a training drill on Wednesday in which Palace players were instructed to fire the ball at each other with power in an attempt to test their control.
Milivojevic was not impressed by Batshuayi’s attitude during the exercise and the two came together in an angry exchange before they were pulled apart by other squad members, the Daily Mail reported.
It is understood that the clash did not descend into a fist fight, with no punches thrown. Milivojevic went on to play 89 minutes against Arsenal in a 0-0 draw on Thursday night while Batshuayi, who is on loan from Chelsea, was an unused substitute.
No disciplinary action is planned for either player, Telegraph Sport understands, but the incident provides another unwanted distraction for a club that has had a series of off-field issues in recent days.
Playmaker Eberechi Eze was this week fined for attending his QPR’s FA Cup tie with Fulham, with Roy Hodgson saying the 22-year-old had shown “naivety” by breaking coronavirus protocols.
And Milivojevic has also been in trouble for breaching lockdown restrictions after he was pictured at a New Year’s Eve gathering with Aleksandar Mitrovic, the Fulham striker and his fellow Serbian international.
Earlier this month Milivojevic issued an apology for the rule breach, saying: “As captain of Crystal Palace, I am fully aware that my responsibilities go beyond football, and that in this instance I have let the fans, the club, my manager and team-mates down.
"In what is a really difficult and challenging moment for everyone, I am truly grateful that I am able to continue to do the job I love and I do not take this for granted. I am very sorry to anyone who has been made to feel angry, hurt or upset by my actions.”
Hodgson’s side face Manchester City on Sunday, when they will look to end an increasingly impressive winning streak for Pep Guardiola’s team.
City have won seven games in a row in all competitions and Hodgson, the former England manager, believes attacking midfielder Phil Foden could be the player to fill the void created by David Silva’s departure from the club.
“He has been very well managed by the club and has been integrated into the first-team in a very clever way, a very sensible way,” said Hodgson of Foden.
“Of course you can do that when you have so many other good players around you – you can afford to leave a player of his quality out because you have got other fantastic players in your squad.
“I think they have done it very well, he has obviously worked very hard at his game and has got better, as everyone knew he would with Premier League and Champions League experience.
“Now he is in the international set-up he is going to get better and better. It is fantastic really that after losing a player of David Silva’s quality, who really lit the league up over a long period of time, they have now managed to find another player from their own ranks who is looking likely to take over that mantle.”
